T'Lar Episodes
by CJK
Summary: Short episodes in the life of T'Lar, a Vulcan Healer now working in Starfleet.
1. Age 16 - The Legacy

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> Disclaimer: All things Star Trek belong to Paramount. T'Lar belongs to herself.
> 
> A/N: Okay, this one takes a long explanation - I play in a real-time online Star Trek RPG (Role-playing game). For more infos check out [www.acalltoduty.com][1]. Anyway, T'Lar is one of my characters in that game, the current one and probably the most dear to me. The following snippets will be episodes from her life. Most of them will be fairly short, and not all of them will have direct references to canon ST characters. Also, the episodes are in no particular order. Take it as a stream of consciousness thingee, if you like. :)
> 
> Questions, comments, suggestions and e-mail bombs welcome at [lena@dancing-dryad.com][2]
> 
> * * *
> 
> Being closely related to famous people was a difficult legacy to live up to.
> 
> The girl contemplated the saying, head cocked to one side, eyebrows raised in mild surprise. It was certainly true, she decided after a moment. And in her case, there was little chance of people forgetting or simply ignoring her relations, since she even bore the name of her famous great-aunt.
> 
> T'Lar, daughter of T'Sal, daughter of Sa'el, daughter of T'Shira stood up from her desk that was bathed in the crimson rays of the early evening and walked down the roughly hewn stone corridor that led to the more formal parts of the big house. There, halfway between the offices and the ceremonial meditation hall was what she had come to call a gallery - a number of holograms of her ancestors and other members of the large family.
> 
> T'Shira's portrait was on the southern wall. Standing in front of it as she had done so many times before, T'Lar looked closely at the three-dimensional image.
> 
> The matriarch was surrounded by her children. Sa'el, T'Lar grandmother, stood to her mother's right, her delicate features composed and serene. To her left was her sister, T'Lar's namesake; famous already by the time the holo-image had been taken. Her priestess' robes were so tidy, her face so tranquil that she looked more like an image of herself or a mannequin, not a real person.
> 
> On T'Shira's left was a heavy-set man with sharp eyes and dark olive skin. His image was appearing in the mass media more and more frequently these days, and he still looked almost the same, except for his greying hair. Sutok, T'Shira's only son, the current head of the House Sunir (that was not only one of the former ruling clans, but also related to the House Sekir of which the famous Sarek was head), and the head of _V'Shar_, the Vulcan Bureau of Internal Security.
> 
> T'Lar's heavy sigh was decidedly un-Vulcan.
> 
> So many famous relatives, so many expectations, so much pressure. And there she was, a girl of sixteen standard Vulcan years, and not at all sure she would be able to live up to even a small amount of them.
> 
> She turned in the direction of the home offices. There was work to be completed. She still harboured the illogical hope that no one had seen her wanderings during the time assigned for her lessons. But there was little chance of that; the huge house was always full of people.
> 
> Pausing in her heavy musings, T'Lar stopped, her sensitive ears picking up sounds of an unfamiliar voice. Her eyebrows rose almost unconsciously, the only outward sign of her over-active curiosity.
> 
> No stranger would enter a Vulcan house, and there was little enough chance of security personnel intruding since the villa was also the official residence of Sutok himself. So a friend, then. And it must be a close friend indeed, to be welcomed into the house.
> 
> While curiosity is logical, excess curiosity is a fault.
> 
> Her father's cool reprimand a very distinct memory, T'Lar focussed her mind on the assigned tasks and once again turned towards the office.
> 
> And bumped into someone with such a force that both staggered and barely stayed upright.
> 
> T'Lar looked up, mortification colouring her cheeks a bright green and almost winced, flushing even more. Great. Just great. It wasn't only a family member who was witness to her transgressions, oh no.
> 
> "My most humble apologies, _kevet-dutar_," she stammered.
> 
> Ambassador Sarek looked down on the girl, one eyebrow arching up in his otherwise very calm face. "You are the daughter of Stenn and T'Sal?"
> 
> T'Lar bowed, worry and embarrassment keeping her silent.
> 
> "Do you have a name, then, daughter of T'Sal?" Was it her imagination, or was Sarek indeed amused?
> 
> But she didn't have a chance to reply. Two men had entered the corridor from the main offices, and although T'Lar kept her head bowed, mostly out of shame, she knew who the men were. The day couldn't get any worse.
> 
> "T'Lar." Sutok's voice cut the thin air like a _lirpa_. "Why are you not in the assigned room?" She couldn't see her father's face, but Stenn's stiff posture made her cringe inwardly. Great, now she had shamed both her father and her great-uncle.
> 
> "The child is no _V'Shar_ operative, Sutok," somebody said calmly, and it took her a second full of amazement to realise it had been Sarek. "Her transgression was minor."
> 
> Sutok and Sarek must be close friends, T'Lar pondered, still looking down at the stone floor. No stranger would ever interrupt family affairs.
> 
> "T'Lar, attend." That was her father's cold voice. Automatically she stepped closer, spine straightening, staring at something above Stenn's left ear. This sounded like trouble.
> 
> "Explain your actions, _ko-kan_." Serious trouble, if her father was calling her 'girl'.
> 
> "I was working on a writing assignment on legacies and heritage, _Osu_." Sir, not father. Paying back in kind. "It seemed logical to consult our family history for a personal perspective. I was on the way back to the office after having studied the holograms of my ancestors and family members."
> 
> It felt like all three adults had relaxed upon hearing that she had indeed not committed a major transgression, if any. Sutok's voice was first to break the silence.
> 
> "The _aru-yem _will start in forty-three point seven minutes. You will have completed your assignment by that time. Be in the formal _shi'yem_ in forty minutes."
> 
> "_Ha_, _Osu_." If given an order the safest way to reply was 'yes, sir', T'Lar knew from long experience. Not that she was looking forward to a stiff dinner in the formal dining room, but there was no way her face, posture, or actions would show that.
> 
> Stenn sidestepped her, and she heard his and Sutok's steps disappear around a corner. But that meant that Sarek was still standing there. Before she could decide what to do about the venerable guest, he spoke.
> 
> "T'Lar, then. Named after Sutok's sister, I presume?"
> 
> She turned to face him, still faintly embarrassed. "Yes, _kevet-dutar_."
> 
> "There is no need to address me by my title, _kan_." There is no need to call me child, either, she thought. "How old are you, T'Lar?"
> 
> The personal question startled her, but she recovered quickly. "Sixteen standard years, _Osu_."
> 
> "You are finishing secondary school this year, I presume?"
> 
> "_Ha_, _Osu_."
> 
> "Any decisions as to your further education?"
> 
> She paused, considering. "_Rai_, _Osu_."
> 
> "I see." It certainly looked like a smile in Sarek's eyes. T'Lar wondered briefly whether she was the reason for the ambassador's amusement.
> 
> "Which of T'Vehnu's writings is your favourite?"
> 
> What was this, an exam? "I think the poetry in '_Stimal heh T'Vri_' has the most interesting imagery, _Osu_."
> 
> There was no answer but that barely perceptible smile. Then, "Thank you, T'Lar. Please don't let me distract you from your studies."
> 
> She bowed quickly and walked to the door of the designated office, still wondering what that all had been about.

   [1]: http://www.acalltoduty.com
   [2]: mailto:lena@dancing-dryad.com



	2. Age 7 - The Bonding

See A

> See A/N and disclaimer in chapter 1.
> 
> Age 7 - the Bonding
> 
> * * *
> 
> She was trying to be stoic and proud and serene, and a whole lot of other things, really, she was.
> 
> But she was only seven, a tiny child with a quick mind and huge black eyes that spoke of insatiable curiosity. Only seven, and having trouble controlling her bubbling emotions.
> 
> "Mother," and T'Lar realised with dismay that her voice was trembling. "Why was I not allowed to meet him before?"
> 
> T'Sal looked down at her daughter, placid features marred only by a thin scar that ran from her temple down the side of her face and made her right eyebrow look perpetually raised. "It is not demanded by the tradition, _kan_."
> 
> How she hated it, being called child, even though she knew the hatred to be dangerously illogical - for what was she if not a child?
> 
> And yet… "But mother, I shall have to spend my life with him, why wasn't I allowed to get to know him before the bonding?"
> 
> "Control your tone of voice, _kan_," and her mother's own voice grew even colder than usual. "You will spend your life at his side. There will be time enough to learn your mate."
> 
> Leaning back in the ground shuttle's crisp faux-leather seat, T'Lar looked out of the window. Mount Seleya grew larger, filled the horizon as they approached. There, her famous namesake awaited, to bond her, T'Lar daughter of T'Sal, the future head of the House Sunir to a boy she hadn't ever met.
> 
> She was very grateful for the Vulcan life span, she realised. For now her great-uncle Sutok was head of their House, and after his death it would be his niece T'Sal, who was only 50 now, and would live for at least another century, if not two.
> 
> At times T'Lar hoped that her parents would conceive another child, a boy who would take her place as heir to the House, but T'Sal had made it very clear that she had given her House an heir and thus had done her duty. She would bear no more children but concentrate on her work instead. A renown and respected historian, she worked at the Academy in the capital, ShirKahr, leaving her husband to take care of the enormous house and grounds, not to mention the number of other real estate the House Sunir owned.
> 
> More often than not, T'Lar was almost happy that she seldom got to see her parents.
> 
> A subtle jolt of the shuttle tore her from her reverie; they had arrived at their destination.
> 
> The temples clinging to the flanks of the enormous mountain were an architectural marvel, but T'Lar barely paid them any attention as her mother led her up the long staircase that was apparently hewn from the mountain itself.
> 
> Traditionally the bonding would take place at the male child's clan ceremonial site, but since in this case the High Priestess was of the Sunir clan and had agreed to perform the ceremony, it had been decided that it would take place at one of the ceremonial grounds in the mountain temple of _V'Reah_.
> 
> A small crowd was already assembled as T'Sal led her daughter into the circle formed by enormous stone blocks. T'Lar saw Sutok and his bond mate, a group centred around a very old man that she assumed was the head of her betrothed's house, several friends of the family, and a number of monks and priests. The number of spectators wasn't helpful as she tried to calm down and not embarrass her family with a display of emotions.
> 
> She heard rather than saw her father come up to her mother's side as they stepped into the ceremonial positions, T'Sal slightly behind Stenn. Her own attention was focussed on a couple leading a boy her age into the circle.
> 
> A bit taller than her, his skin darker, a mane of thick dark auburn hair on his head and shoulders, the boy looked fairly unexciting. And with him, and T'Lar belatedly remembered his name - Se'hel - would she spend her life. She almost sighed.
> 
> Just then, silence fell over the shaded area. T'Lar thought she heard drums beating in the distance. Trying to centre herself she looked up, and met Se'hel's eyes. Surprisingly, the boy looked just as uneasy as she herself felt. Sensing her glance at him, he looked up and smiled with his eyes, the rest of his face a study in tranquillity. Startled and a bit amused, T'Lar 'smiled' back, feeling some of the uneasiness leave her.
> 
> She turned towards the circle entrance just in time to see four ceremonial guards carry in a litter with drawn curtains. The forlorn cry of a _shavokh_ echoed around the silent mountain as the heavy velvet parted and gave way to a tall and very beautiful woman whose white hair shone like molten silver around her head.
> 
> Together with the rest of the crowd T'Lar bowed deeply, recognising her great-aunt and namesake, the High Priestess.
> 
> There was no sound as the regal woman strode forward and stopped a few paces before the two children. When she spoke, her quiet but forceful tones commanded the attention of everyone present.
> 
> "_Na'shayalar na'kanok-veh la._" Greetings to everyone present.
> 
> The High Priestess paused, seemingly listening to the echo of the ancient words as they spread over the mountainside.
> 
> "_Etek hoknau fi'nash-mazhiv na'telan t'Se'hel eh t'T'Lar_." We are gathered on these sands for the bonding of Se'hel and T'Lar.
> 
> Turning to Se'hel's father, the woman intoned calmly, asking if the child was of age for bonding. "Shalis, son of Stel, son of Sital, _nam-tor sha'kan t'ya'shakhuv na'telan_?"
> 
> There was no hesitation in Shalis' voice as he spoke. "_Ish-veh nam-tor._"
> 
> Nodding slightly, the elder T'Lar turned to Stenn, asking the same question. "Stenn, _sa-fu t'_Saruk_, sa-fu t'_Sonak_, nam-tor sha'kan t'ya'shakhuv na'telan?"_
> 
> Was there a small pause before Stenn answered, his voice sounding very subdued? "_Ish-veh nam-tor._"
> 
> T'Lar blinked. Didn't her father agree to the bonding?
> 
> Meanwhile the High Priestess nodded shortly. "_Kal-tor palikau._" Let us begin. She beckoned the children forward with a majestic gesture, and T'Lar found her feet moving almost on their own.
> 
> The next words were addressed to her betrothed. "Se'hel, son of Shalis and T'Lirah, _nam-tor du na'telan?_"
> 
> With a tiny glance towards his future bride Se'hel said quietly, "_Nash-veh nam-tor._" T'Lar was surprised to notice that he had a very pleasant voice, not deep yet, but silkily smooth.
> 
> Her great-aunt was speaking again, this time addressing her young relative. "T'Lar, daughter of Stenn and T'Sal, _nam-tor du na'telan?_"
> 
> Her last chance to back out… T'Lar squashed the silly thought. Yes, she was ready, and she said so. "_Nash-veh nam-tor._"
> 
> And then the priestess raised her hands, pressing finger to each child's temple…
> 
> … And the desert plains on the horizon and the mountain temple around her were gone, leaving her standing on a vast colourless expanse of… something. There was a soft wind caressing her cheeks and braiding her hair, and it whispered words… and she saw the older T'Lar standing there, her aura colouring her stern but beautiful and there was a link… Kashkau -- wuhkuh eh teretuhr - _Our minds, one and together… and then she saw Se'hel…_
> 
> … And he was in her head, a curious but very friendly presence, and she could taste his thoughts, see his feelings… Estuhn wi ri estuhn -- k'wuhli wi ri k'wuhli - _touching, yet not touching; apart, yet never apart… and it was true, he was with her now, in her head, and she would never be alone again, and…_
> 
> ... She was back in reality, although it didn't feel very real to her. Actually, most of what she felt was dizzy. And Se'hel, of course.
> 
> In the depth of their minds, the children smiled at each other.
> 
> Apart, yet never apart, Se'hel's voice whispered to her.
> 
> Turning to the High Priestess, T'Lar spoke; hearing and feeling Se'hel say the same. "_Nam-tor etek wuhkuh._" We are one.
> 
> The master nodded solemnly, but T'Lar thought she felt her smile before the older woman released the link. "_Ki'navau telan,_" she announced to the crowd, the bonding has succeeded. There were little sighs here and there, and also something dangerously close to a smile on T'Lirah's, Se'hel's mother's, lips.
> 
> She is always like that, Se'hel whispered in her mind. But it didn't sound irritated, only amused. T'Lar projected warm amusement back.
> 
> Meanwhile the elder T'Lar was speaking again, the last words of the ritual. "_Lu sarlah pon farr - dungi-fun-tor na'nash-shi na'kun-ut kali-fi. Sochya eh dif_." When the pon farr comes, you will return to this place for the kun-ut kali-fi. Peace and long life.
> 
> The children, and with them all the assembled raised their hands in the traditional greeting. The next words were spoken by everyone. "Live long and prosper."
> 
> T'Lar let herself be led from the stone circle to the waiting shuttle, hardly registering what was happening around her. Her mind bathed in Se'hel's company she quietly whispered the words.
> 
> Apart, yet never apart. No longer alone.


	3. Age 85 - Family Emergency

10109.29

> The intercom's quiet chirp broke T'Lar's concentration on the report. Frowning slightly, she reached for the controls on her desk.
> 
> "T'Lar here."
> 
> "Commander," she recognised the voice - Ensign Sarah Gustavsson from the Operations department - "There is a personal message for you, from Vulcan."
> 
> Raising an elegant eyebrow, the woman leaned back in her chair. "Please put it through, Sarah. And thanks."
> 
> "Any time, ma'am," came the cheerful, lightly accented voice, before the image on the computer terminal flickered and resolved itself into the IDIC symbol, drawn in precise green lines. The lower half of the screen blinked and then showed the standard 'please identify yourself' sequence in Golic Vulcan.
> 
> Frown deepening; T'Lar lowered her face closer to the seldom-used retina scanner. "Lieutenant Commander T'Lar," she said to the terminal.
> 
> The blinding flash of the scan was followed by the Access Granted on the screen, but instead of her name and rank the words read "T'Lar of House Sunir". Curiouser and curiouser.
> 
> But as the all too familiar face appeared on the screen, T'Lar's face immediately lost the frown and changed into a blank expression. Her hand rose in the traditional salute.
> 
> "_Osu_." The habit to call her great-uncle 'sir' was older than herself… but why was Sutok contacting her?
> 
> "T'Lar." Another surprise, her uncle calling her by her name, not 'girl', or 'child'. She contemplated the man on the screen. Strong features, a mane of thick white hair, dark olive skin. And his face… She looked closer and blinked. Did he really look worried?
> 
> Knowing her thoughts didn't show on her serene face, she sat unmoving, waiting for him to speak first, as he was far superior in position and status. At last he broke the silence, and the eye contact, looking away briefly.
> 
> "T'Lar, I have news concerning your mother."
> 
> Whatever it was, even if he would tell her of her mother's death, she felt neither excited nor moved in any way. Her feelings for T'Sal were not directly hatred, for hatred was illogical, but it was close. Again, she remained silent, utterly Vulcan in appearance, waiting for him to continue.
> 
> And continue he did. "T'Sal left the Estate, leaving behind a message for her spouse." Again that uncomfortable pause - and right after it, an image of said note showed on the screen, replacing Sutok's thickset features. Fighting down her surprise at him showing her something so personal, she leaned forward and read her mother's familiar precise and clipped handwriting, translating the ancient symbols into Federation Standard in her mind.
> 
> Stenn - I am leaving. Do not search for me. Consider our marriage hereby dissolved.
> 
> Raising an eyebrow, T'Lar looked at Sutok's face that was once again occupying the screen. "This seems utterly illogical. Has she been kidnapped and forced to write that note, perhaps?"
> 
> She knew that her voice and her face were composed, even while a part of her wondered how her always calm and more than strict father would react to this breach of discipline in his own house. And another, much less "Vulcan" part of her thought about the last sentence of T'Sal's message. If a marriage of two telepaths could be destroyed by five words, how shallow had their bond been? But she drew away from the thought; years of conditioning forcing her respect her parents' privacy. She concentrated on Sutok's words again.
> 
> "We," and there was a pause before the word, "have information that T'Sal might be involved with," another pause, filled with something like sorrow and embarrassment, "the VIM."
> 
> T'Lar blinked. "The Vulcan Isolationist Movement? The terrorist group?" _My mother?_
> 
> And then the words connected. "Your source being _V'Shar_?" Of course, Sutok, being the head of the Vulcan Intelligence Agency would be the first to know when his niece was suspected of being a terrorist.
> 
> He was nodding already. "Affirmative. T'Lar…" Yet another pause, more uncomfortable than the others. "T'Lar, we need your help."
> 
> Astonished, she waited for him to go on, not daring to say a word for the fear of sounding less than utterly calm.
> 
> "Stenn has not agreed to cooperate, and of course, we cannot force him to. You are the only one who has if not a link, then a feeling of your mother's presence. Also, your strong empathy could be a great advantage if you were to…"
> 
> "… If I were to assist the _V'Shar_ in their search for T'Sal and consequently for other terrorists."
> 
> "Yes." Her great-uncle looked away for a moment, clearly trying to compose himself to be able to calmly speak about the most uncomfortable affair.
> 
> "There has been an explosion at the Old Arts Museum in ShirKahr, as you probably know." He waited for her to nod her assent. "There have been some clues that we hope will be helpful."
> 
> She almost sighed. Her family affairs, Vulcan, her old life, all those were enveloping her again, drawing her into a situation she thought she had escaped decades ago. But she hardly had a choice, there was her duty as a Vulcan and a Starfleet Officer, and there was the honour of her clan…
> 
> "I will arrange transportation for Vulcan and contact you as soon as I have arrived." Dropping the 'sir', he was now almost her equal, and asking for her assistance. Oh how everything had changed.
> 
> He nodded, and then added, to her great surprise, "Thank you, niece."
> 
> Nodding, and about to close the connection, she was stopped by a brief gesture of Sutok's. "T'Lar - I'm sure you realise that as of now you are First Heiress to the House. I thought it best to just acknowledge the transition, without conducting a ceremony."
> 
> Too stunned to answer, she just nodded stiffly, before Sutok raised his hand in the traditional salute and closed the connection at his end.
> 
> Blinking rapidly as she assimilated the information, T'Lar sighed quietly. "Vulcan, here I come."
> 
> TBC..


End file.
